Premiere: Remembering and Forgetting on LeRiche’s “River Runs”

As we grow up, we lose people. Friends move away, break ups happen, life gets in the way and people leave. And regardless of how much we’ve grown accustomed to living without them, even catching a glimpse of them on the street can feel like a jolt of electricity shocking you, if only for a moment. There’s nothing quite like it. A combination of surprise and shock washes over you. You feel exposed.

Brad LeRiche, better known as LeRiche knows that sometimes life throws you these sentimental human curveballs. More often than not, these walking, talking, tangible memories seem to stroll in and out of your life just to knock the wind out of you. He conveys the initial sense of bemusement with soothing melodies in his new single “River Runs,” which Atwood Magazine is proudly premiering today, and softly explains how although time will pass, seeing a forgotten person immediately brings every emotion flooding back:

Thought I buried us deep downOne thousand years ago in our home townAnd then you call, “will you come down?”Face to face it all comes out

Listen: “River Runs” – LeRiche

With a stunning blend of folk and pop, LeRiche compares the experience to a river. It makes sense for a LeRiche, who is a Newfoundlander, to appreciate the power of water as a metaphor for strong feelings. Much like how rivers and oceans are an integral part to coastal life, each person we have formed friendships or relationships with makes up the fabric of our lives. Author Emery Allen puts it best: “Not everything is supposed to become something beautiful and long-lasting. Sometimes people come into your life to show you what is right and what is wrong, to show you who you can be, to teach you to love yourself, to make you feel better for a little while, or to just be someone to walk with at night and spill your life to. Not everyone is going to stay forever, and we still have to keep on going and thank them for what they’ve given us.”

The track toes the line of losing and longing, delicately veering between the two. It’s like trying to forget how that person’s hair curled in the rain or how their eyes lit up when they laughed. Yet fate has its own agenda, and proves you can never erase someone’s existence from your memories. The guitar courses through with ease, as LeRiche gently sings about being caught off guard:

If we pick up where we left offRight before we dropped offI remember we were so lostthen it all comes rushing backHittin’ me like a big waveI was so unprepared babe‘Cause seeing you made me realizeHow theHow the river runs

LeRiche says the song is about “a realization during a chance re-meeting or ‘unexpected collision’ of two people. I think we can all say that we have found ourselves in this position. When you least expect to run into someone and then you realize the feelings or emotions you once shared have suddenly resurfaced. Be it an old friend, lover from a past life, or a familiar looking stranger, when your eyes meet again you are overcome with nostalgia and the memories playback like a movie in your head.”

“River Runs” showcases a tranquil layering of instrumentals that is refined and crisp. The song drifts in and out of a melancholy trance, inviting the listener to find the positive energy in a forgotten connection. The strings and guitar meld together as LeRiche’s vocals echo over and over. The tune grasps onto a bond between two people that can never truly die.

In a sense, one can equate the story of “River Runs” to that of the myth of the red string of fate. The legend goes, two people, they could be friends or lovers, are connected by a red string of fate. This bonds them together forever. The thread may tangle, knot or stretch, but it will never break.

LeRiche expresses this sentiment fully: “People say that some things are better left buried, and sure, the past can come back to haunt you, but on the flip side, an unlikely friend can reappear at an unlikely time and turn your life around. That’s how you know that River Runs deep.”

Stream LeRiche’s new single “River Runs” right now, exclusively on Atwood Magazine!

Natalie is a journalism honours student at Carleton University. When she isn't listening to music, she can be found lip-synching and dancing to it at the loudest possible volume. She also studies communications and film studies.

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